LOS ANGELES |
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday granted Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry on a stay away order against a man who she said intruded on her Los Angeles property three times in recent days, before police arrested him.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson issued a temporary order directing Richard A. Franco, 27, to stay 100 yards from Berry and her young daughter.
Franco, who has a history of violence, theft and drug offenses, was found to have a book with "nonsensical ramblings" and Berry's name in his handwriting, the actress said in court papers posted at TMZ.com.
Franco first approached Berry's home on Saturday, when she was talking to her manager and saw through a glass door that Franco -- whom she does not know -- was in the gated back yard, the papers state. Berry's manager yelled at Franco and he left, she stated.
The actress further said that on Sunday, she went to her kitchen to get a Diet Coke and noticed Franco was on the other side of a glass door, less than a foot away.
"Panicking and in fear of my life, I turned my body and quickly hit the deadbolt lock on the glass door," Berry said in the court papers.
She said she ran upstairs to call police. That evening, arrangements were made to have armed security officers at Berry's home, and as a result on Monday, Franco was caught when he returned.
"This person has invaded and trampled upon the most fundamental sense of security I have and I am extremely frightened of him and what he might do to me or those I love," Berry said in her court papers.
Franco was booked on suspicion of stalking, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said on its website that Franco is being held in jail, and that his bail has been set at $150,000.
Berry, 44, won an Oscar for her role in the 2001 drama "Monster's Ball." She also starred in the movies "X-Men," "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," and in 2008 she was named Esquire Magazine's "sexiest woman alive."
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
